Monday, May 21, 2012

So, there's this great thing that happened called The Knox Writers' House Recording Project, in which these three Knox College students traveled around the country recording writers reading their work and talking about it. Last year, they found us in Atlanta and sat in our cold dining room with us and encouraged us read to them. Now they have this amazing website where you can listen to all sorts of interesting people read their work. It's great! This week, poet Chris Tonelli has picked a poem of mine as the weekly featured poem, which is really nice, and what is even nicer is that he calls me "the Lionel Messi of poetry," which is the best compliment possible. Here is the text of the poem, just in case you can't understand my weird voice.

POEM BEGINNING WITH A LINE BY LIONEL MESSI

It’s true I still have a thorn inside me,
a little personal weather.
Pace blossoms when I am running.
Districts unfold cement picnics
and spells for athletics
between the arable suburbs.
My calories propagate them
like strange, tiny stars.
I close my eyes.
I cry “Oh cryptic murmurs
listing within my Doppler!”
I slow down, find a great hotel
for my wind to get wasted in.
I go poolside
and ash there a while.
My friend, when it comes to the sweaters,
you are not the wool:
you are the insane gigantic bear design.
I will think of you if I ever see a bear.
I mean, whenever.